The Muthuvan tribal community in Edamalakkudy, Kerala’s first tribal panchayat near Munnar, continues to grapple with a lack of proper roads and bridges, forcing residents to transport critically ill patients on makeshift bamboo stretchers through dense forest. On August 31, 2026, a 40-year-old woman named Sumathi from the Parappayarkudy settlement was carried over seven kilometres to receive treatment for a high fever. She was later admitted to Munnar General Hospital, marking the fourth such incident reported in the panchayat within a month.
Edamalakkudy panchayat president Binu M. explained that no road connects Parappayarkudy and Vellavarakkudy, compelling villagers to move the patient to Keppakkad near Pettimudy, the entry point to the panchayat, before a vehicle could take her to Munnar Tata Hospital. He highlighted that recurring emergencies underscore the dire need for road and bridge infrastructure, urging authorities to address the situation so that emergency medical care can be delivered promptly.
The president listed three additional cases in the past month: on August 22, 33-year-old Rajathi was carried five kilometres across the Manaliyar river to the Edamalakkudy primary health centre; on August 14, 50-year-old Poomani was taken on foot to the primary health facility at Societykudy; and on August 12, 75-year-old Malayappan was trekked nearly 10 kilometres through forest to Mankulam before being transferred to Adimaly Taluk Hospital.
Similar tragedies occurred the previous year. On August 21, 2025, five-year-old Karthik died while his family trekked him on a stretcher to Mankulam hospital, and his coffin was carried back the following day. In September 2025, his grandmother Rajakanni survived a high‑fever episode after being carried on a bamboo stretcher to the same hospital.
